Episode 59 Eggheads

These people are amongst the greatest quiz players in Britain.

Together, they make up the Eggheads,

arguably the most formidable quiz team in the country.

The question is, can they be beaten?

Welcome to Eggheads, the show where a team of five quiz Challengers

pit their wits against possibly the greatest quiz team in Britain.

They are the Eggheads.

And you really are the best. Aren't you, Eggs?

Thank you, Jeremy. Nice to be recognised.

It's true. Challenging the might of our quiz Goliaths today

are The Beer Milers.

Now, this team are all members of the Trent Park Running Club

in North London. Let's meet them.

Hi, I'm Paul and I work in IT support.

Hello, I'm Martin. I'm a utility manager in construction.

Hello, I'm Edwin, and I'm a freelance chartered accountant.

Hello, I'm Adrian and I'm a lecturer in marketing.

Hi, I'm Garrett and I'm a health care consultant.

-So, Paul and team, hello.

-Hello.

-Great to see you, welcome.

So it's a combination of beer and running, Paul, it seems to be.

That's right. That's definitely the common theme,

we all run for Trent Park Running Club, we all train together.

We race in various leagues together

and we like to have a drink together.

-And Trent Park is North London?

-That's correct, yeah. Enfield.

Cos running and beer, that's basically your interest, Dave,

-apart from the running.

-Yeah, of course, yeah.

THEY LAUGH

So... You don't presumably combine the running and the beer

-on the same day, or maybe you do?

-We do.

We've now got an annual event in the club, which is The Beer Mile,

which is becoming popular, actually, in general.

So that's a race in its own right now.

Four drinks during a mile race.

-Oof.

-So 400 metres, drink, et cetera.

-Seriously? I would struggle.

-It's quite big now, yeah.

-Four pints?

-No, it's 350 mils,

so it works out at about three pints.

OK. I'd be under every table with that, I must say.

But you quiz as well, crucially, Paul.

We do a bit of quizzing.

-OK. Don't say any more, leave them guessing...

-OK.

I can see they're starting to worry over there.

Every day, there is £1,000 worth of cash up for grabs

for our Challengers. However, if they fail to defeat the Eggheads,

the prize money rolls over to the next show.

Good luck, Beer Milers.

I can tell you the Eggheads have won the last six, so they're on, er,

well, it's a run of their own really.

And it means there's £7,000 for you to win.

-Would you like to try?

-Yes.

Thought so. The first head-to-head battle

is on the subject of Geography,

and you can choose one of you against either Dave,

Beth, Chris, Pat, or Judith.

I think Geography is probably Garrett.

Yeah, I'm happy to take that one.

-Sure.

-Garrett, OK.

Health care consultant. Against which Egghead?

Look at them all, looking as if their sat navs are working.

-Beth?

-Beth, perhaps? Yeah.

-I think so.

-OK, give it a go.

All right. They sound determined, this lot.

So it's Garrett from The Beer Milers taking on Beth

from the Eggheads on Geography.

And just to ensure there's no conferring,

would you please go to our legendary Question Room?

So you're a runner for sure, Garrett, is that right?

Yeah, that's right. I like to run

and take part in quite a few triathlons, as well.

Yeah, and you've done marathons,

but you've done longer distances than that.

Yeah, that's right. For quite a few years,

I was running various ultra marathons.

I particularly enjoy 24-hour events,

where the objective is to run as far as you can in 24 hours.

So they're a particular favourite of mine.

So I'm trying to think, how far would you get in 24 hours?

Surely not 100 miles?

Some of the very best runners are getting up above 150.

-Wow.

-Which is phenomenal.

The best I've done is 116.

That's amazing.

And you did the Ridgeway Trail Race, did you?

Yeah, that's a really nice event, I've done that twice,

it's Britain's oldest Roman road,

so there's a lot of history around it as well,

and it's really beautiful.

It's 87 miles, 9,000 foot of ascents,

so quite a challenging run, because of all the ups and downs.

Goodness. Beth, how are we feeling about this?

Exhausted.

LAUGHTER Exhausted just listening to it.

Yeah. OK, well, respect, Garrett. And good luck on Geography.

Would you like to go first or second against Beth?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

Which of these counties is located on Ireland's south coast?

Well, I was born in Dublin and I know that's on the east,

Galway is a very beautiful county on the west and Cork,

actually, my sister was born in, and that's on the south.

So I would choose Cork, please, Jeremy.

Cork is quite right, well done.

Beth, on which estuary

does the Lincolnshire town of Grimsby lie?

Well, being from Lincolnshire, you'd think I should know this answer.

It's on the Humber.

Humber is right. Well done.

And back we go to you, Garrett.

The Equator passes through which of these island nations?

OK, so, I'll try and work this out.

Erm...

I don't think it's Fiji.

Erm...

For some reason, I'm leaning towards the Maldives. Er...

I think I am going to...

..go with the Maldives on this one.

Maldives. Let's see, do your team-mates know?

-Is he right?

-We think so.

Yeah, they like it. Maldives is right.

Well done. Well done indeed. OK, Beth,

which of these countries is the largest

in terms of surface area?

Saudi Arabia is quite a large country,

Mexico is also quite large, Argentina is relatively large.

Now, is Argentina smaller than I think it is?

The problem with looking at a map with the Mercator projection

is that the areas are all skewed.

You actually have to know the answer.

-I'm going...

-BETH SIGHS

..go with Saudi Arabia.

-It's the wrong answer. Argentina.

-I thought it might be!

Oh, that was my first thought, should've gone with it.

OK, Garrett.

You can take the round with this.

Which US state is commonly nicknamed The Treasure State,

because of its rich mineral resources?

I'm not entirely sure.

I believe the Southern states are quite wealthy.

I think I'm going towards Louisiana,

so I will choose Louisiana, please.

-Let's see if the Eggheads know this. Eggs?

-Montana.

-Montana.

-Yeah, Montana is the answer.

Montana is The Treasure State.

So, Beth, your question to stay in.

What is the capital of Suriname?

Oh, this is one I should've been revising, capital cities.

The only one I recognise...

I'm sure they're all capitals, but I think Suriname is Paramaribo.

-Yes, Paramaribo is the right answer.

-Paramaribo.

-Yeah, Paramaribo.

So, you've got yourself level with our challenger.

Again we go to Sudden Death after three questions.

With the scores level, gets a bit harder now, Garrett,

I don't give you alternative options.

-OK.

-Here we go...

Which country introduced a new flag in 1994,

composed of six colours, red, white, green, yellow,

black and blue?

This would be South Africa.

South Africa is quite right.

Beth, the River Stour

forms most of Suffolk's southern boundary with which other county?

Suffolk's southern boundary would be with Essex.

Essex is right, Beth. Well done.

Garrett, your question.

The Antipodes Islands in the South Pacific Ocean

belong to which country?

Because...

..Australia and those countries are often referred to,

the people are referred to as Antipodean, erm,

that's bringing me into that region.

But in terms of the islands, I think they would belong to New Zealand?

New Zealand is correct.

Well done.

Beth, to stay in, Sudden Death.

The Banda Islands,

which have a heritage of producing nutmeg and mace,

are part of which country?

Let's go with Indonesia.

Indonesia is correct.

Garrett...

The Ogaden is a region on which continent?

And it's spelt O-G-A-D-E-N.

Got a couple that come to mind.

I've not heard of it.

I think that might be in Asia.

It's in Africa.

Beth, for the round...

Kilauea, one of the world's largest active volcanic craters,

is located in which US state?

Er, I'm hoping that is Hawaii.

Hawaii is the right answer, well done.

You've taken it on Sudden Death. Sorry, Garrett.

Come back to us, please, both of you, we'll play on.

So, The Beer Milers have lost a brain from the final round.

The Eggheads are all still there, and we play on with Sport.

Who would like this?

-All of you, I should think.

-All right.

-I know.

Should I take it?

I think so, yeah.

-Want to go for it?

-Yeah, I'll take that...

-OK, Paul, the team captain.

Against which Egghead? Anyone but Beth.

I will try Chris, please, Jeremy.

Ah, that's going to go down well.

-Oh, dear. All sad. Never mind.

-LAUGHTER

Paul from The Beer Milers takes on Chris on Sport.

Please go to the Question Room now.

So, Sport against Chris, Paul.

Would you like to go first or second?

I'd like to go first, please, Jeremy.

Which of these footballers played for Manchester United

during the 2016/17 season?

OK, well, I know Daniel Sturridge is Liverpool.

Danny Welbeck is Arsenal.

2016/17 for Man United would be Marcus Rashford.

Yes, indeed. Marcus Rashford is right, well done.

Chris, your question.

Which nation had the most representatives

in the initial 41-man squad selected for the 2017

British and Irish Lions Rugby Union tour of New Zealand?

Well, all three produce useful rugby players,

but just on the basis of population statistics,

I'd have to say England.

England is correct.

All right, Paul.

In which year did the boxer Wladimir Klitschko

win an Olympic gold medal?

OK, I'll have to have a think about this.

It's '96 or 2000.

I'm going to try 2000, Jeremy.

-It's actually 1996.

-Ah.

-Chris has a way in on Sport.

Let's see. Chris, in April 2017,

who became the first cricketer to score 10,000 Twenty20 runs?

I think that was Chris Gayle.

Chris Gayle is correct. So, Chris takes the lead here

and you need to get this one right, Paul.

Which of these snooker players

has won the most World Championship titles?

OK, well, Dennis Taylor won once,

and Steve Davis, I think, has six world titles, maybe.

I think Stephen Hendry has one more -

maybe seven - so Stephen Hendry.

Yes, you got it right. Well done. Stephen Hendry is the answer.

So, Chris, if you get this right, you're in the final round.

Only two Asian cities have hosted the Commonwealth Games -

Delhi and which other?

Well, Seoul's not in the Commonwealth.

Lahore is in Pakistan.

The Commonwealth city that's hosted the Commonwealth Games

-is Kuala Lumpur.

-You're right, it is Kuala Lumpur,

so you've got three and the Challenger has two.

Three on Sport, Chris!

What's going on?

Oh, look at that!

The salute from the gold medal position.

So, Chris will be in the final round.

Sorry, Paul, but you've given Chris a boost, that's for sure.

He doesn't like Sport very much.

Come back to us, both of you, and we'll play round three.

So, as it stands, The Beer Milers

have lost two brains from the final round.

The Eggheads have not lost any so far.

The next subject is Arts & Books.

Now, who would like this?

-That's you.

-LAUGHTER

-The three in the middle.

-I think that's going to be me, Jeremy.

Edwin, OK. And who would you like to take on?

You can have either Pat, Judith or Dave.

-Try and take Dave out?

-Dave. Let's try Dave.

Edwin from The Beer Milers playing Dave on Arts & Books.

And just to make sure there's no conferring,

please, gentlemen, take your positions.

Well, I know you're an accountant, Edwin, but also a performer.

That's right. I do quite a bit of singing and acting in my spare time.

I'm a songwriter, and from time to time,

I perform those songs at open mic nights

in North and Central London.

OK. So, Arts & Books, I think, will be good to you, Edwin.

And would you like to go first or second against Dave?

I'll go first, please.

Here's your question.

In Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book,

what type of animal is Akela?

Right, believe it or not, I've actually been in a production of

The Jungle Book, and we called it Jungle Rock

cos we had rock songs in it.

Bagheera was the panther.

Do you know, I can't remember who the elephant was,

but Akela was a wolf.

Yeah, well done. Wolf is the answer.

Dave, in JRR Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings trilogy,

which of these characters is a dwarf?

I don't know because I've not read Lord Of The Rings.

I haven't remembered anything.

The one that is just giving me a jolt is Gimli.

I'm going to have to go for it,

but I'm not sure at all because I've not read any of this.

OK, let's check with Beth.

-Yeah, Gimli, son of Gloin, is a dwarf.

-Gimli's right.

Back to you, Edwin.

The French novelist and short story writer

Guy de Maupassant lived during which century?

I'm pretty sure that's 19th.

Yeah, we'll go with 19th.

-19th is right. Well done. Dave, your question.

-Yeah.

What is the surname of the main character George

in the John Steinbeck novella Of Mice And Men?

In a bit of trouble here.

George Milton, George Chaucer, George Keats.

I'm going to go Milton, but, again, no certainty at all.

Well, you're doing well, Dave. Milton is correct. Two out of two.

That's how they do it, Edwin.

I don't know what it is. Daphne used to call it an inkle.

Your question. Third question can be crucial.

In which Shakespeare play does Leonato speak the opening line,

"I learn in this letter that Don Peter of Aragon

"comes this night to Messina"?

OK, if I get this wrong,

my drama group in North London is going to give me a lot of trouble.

There's Don John in Much Ado About Nothing.

I think it's Much Ado About Nothing. Let's go with that.

Much Ado About Nothing is the right answer.

-Phew! Thank goodness.

-JEREMY CHUCKLES

You'll be welcome back there, don't worry.

OK, Tremendous Knowledge Dave, to stay in,

who wrote the poem The Arrow And The Song?

-The Arrow And The Song?

-The Arrow And The Song.

Nothing's really hitting me.

I'm going to have to take the arrow,

shoot it through with Edgar Allan Poe.

Edgar Allan Poe is your answer.

Let us see with the Eggheads. Is he right?

-I think it's Longfellow.

-I thought it was Longfellow.

Sounds more like Hiawatha - The Arrow And The Song.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the right answer.

You've been knocked out. Well done, Edwin.

First breakthrough for our Challengers.

This is good. Suddenly, we've got the turning point.

We can sense it here.

Come back to us. One more round before the final.

As it stands, The Beer Milers have lost

two brains from the final round. The Eggheads have now lost a brain,

and, remember, these are long-distance runners, Eggs, OK?

So, they don't sprint. You take your time, don't you?

-That's us.

-You do. Strategy.

The next subject, and the last before the final, is Music.

Heave into them now.

It's Martin or Adrian.

-Adrian?

-Yeah.

-So, you need to pick an Egghead.

Yes, choose an Egghead.

So, Adrian, it's either of the two on the right here,

-Pat or Judith. Both enormous brains.

-What's Pat...?

Shall we try and knock Pat out? Cos Pat's strong.

Pat's good at most things, so you're going to try and...

-Try and knock him out?

-Yeah, have a go at Pat.

-Yeah.

-I'll have a go at Pat, please.

OK, we've got the strategy. Adrian trying to take out Pat.

To ensure there's no conferring,

please, for the last time, go to the Question Room.

Good luck, Adrian.

I gather, Pat, you haven't lost a Music round for two years.

Well, that's me. That's my fate sealed.

-Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy.

-JEREMY LAUGHS

-I'm trying to help here, Adrian.

-That's a big target on me.

So, would you like to go first or second, Adrian?

I'll go first, please, Jeremy.

All right, here we go.

The oboe is part of which section of the orchestra?

I know it's not percussion because I play drums.

I know it's probably not strings.

Oboe tends to be a wind instrument,

so I will go for woodwind, please, Jeremy.

Yeah, no catch. Woodwind is correct. Well done.

Pat, Gerry And The Pacemakers

had a hit in 1964 with the single Ferry Cross The what?

I think it subsequently became a big charity record, as well.

It's Ferry Cross The Mersey.

Beautiful song. Mersey is right.

Adrian, as of April 2017,

how many UK number one singles has Elvis Presley had?

I'd probably rule out 31.

-I daren't sing them.

-THEY LAUGH

I'm going to go for...

..for some reason, 11.

You've said 11. You ruled out 31.

Pat, can you give us any daylight on this?

I probably would've gone 11, as well.

21 seems a great many.

But then they did reversion them and they rereleased them -

A Little Less Conversation, all that kind of thing.

-21 is the answer.

-Oh.

OK, Pat, your question, to take the lead.

Which of these famous composers was born first?

I think they're pretty much in that order in chronology.

Bach was 1685.

Beethoven and Brahms were both considerably later, so it's Bach.

Bach is right.

He's got two and you need to get this one, Adrian.

I Am Here For You and You And Me (But Mostly Me)

are songs from which musical?

I thought Legally Blonde was a film. I'm not sure if it was a musical.

Book Of Mormon, I don't know.

I would say Avenue Q.

The Book Of Mormon is the answer.

Sorry, Adrian, knocked out by Pat here,

who doesn't lose very often on Music.

So, come back to us, both of you.

We'll play the final round for £7,000.

So, this is what we have been playing towards.

It is time for the final round and, as always, it's General Knowledge.

But I'm afraid those of you who lost your head-to-heads

are not taking part in this round.

So, that's Paul, Adrian and Garrett from The Beer Milers,

and also Dave from the Eggheads.

Would you now please leave the studio?

Martin, Edwin, you are playing to win The Beer Milers £7,000.

Beth, Chris, Pat and Judith, you're playing to defend the jackpot

and the Eggheads' reputation, as well.

As usual, I will ask each team three questions in turn.

They're all General Knowledge. You can confer.

So, Beer Milers, the question is, can your two brains beat these four?

So, would you like to go first or second?

We'll go first, please, Jeremy.

OK, guys, good luck.

In Indian cuisine, what sort of food is keema?

K-E-E-M-A.

-Do you know it?

-I've sometimes had a keema naan.

Keema naan, yeah.

Well, we've both had keema naans on a frequent basis,

so on the basis that keema naan is minced meat within the bread,

we'd say minced meat.

Yes, you're right. Minced meat it is.

Well done. You could go wrong on that one, actually.

All right, Eggheads.

Who won a Best Actress Oscar in 2017 for her performance in La La Land?

-That's Emma Stone.

-Emma Stone.

-Emma Stone?

-Yeah.

That's Emma Stone.

It is Emma Stone, yeah. Brilliant. Challengers,

in the equation W = FD,

where W is work and F is force, what is D?

Well, it could be distance or duration.

-Oh, dear. Do you know this?

-No, I don't.

Well, force... So, force is pushing. I would've thought...

Obviously, the more duration you do it...

The more force you apply.

I would've thought the longer the duration,

-the more work you're going to do, right?

-Yes.

But that would apply to distance, as well, wouldn't it?

Force implies an amount of pressure.

So, would that give you forward momentum?

Would it give you distance?

Do you know what? I'm tempted to go with distance.

I don't really feel a force

multiplied by a time, do you?

No. Shall we go for distance?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. We don't know,

but we're going to go for distance

just by dint of the fact

of force applied.

OK, W is work, F is force. What is D?

Pat, do you know this?

-I think it's distance.

-Distance is right.

-It's right.

-Well done.

-Oof! Right, near miss.

OK, Eggheads on the defensive now.

Culzean Castle, designed by the architect Robert Adam

in the late 18th century,

is located on the west coast of which country?

-It's spelt C-U-L-Z-E-A-N. Culzean.

-Oh, yes. Scotland.

-I think Scotland.

-Wasn't Eisenhower given an apartment by the nation there?

-Yes.

-Definitely Scotland.

-Scotland.

-Scotland?

That's Scotland.

Scotland is correct. Two-two. It's tense.

£7,000. Get this one right,

and maybe - just maybe - they will fall apart.

All right, what type of birds are mentioned

in the last line of the John Keats poem Ode To Autumn?

OK, so, Ode To Autumn is

-"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness."

-Yeah.

"Close bosom-friend" and all that. But I don't know the last line.

What bird would you associate with autumn?

I don't think he would write about eagles.

-Swallows migrate, right?

-Mm-hm.

So, they'll come in in spring,

and out in autumn,

so it could be a reference to that.

On the basis that swallows emigrate in autumn...

I think we've got a stronger connection to swallows,

-even though we're not...

-No.

-Swallows? Will we go swallows?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? OK.

We're going to go with swallows, Jeremy.

The line is "And gathering swallows

"twitter in the skies."

All right. So, they got three.

And if you don't get this one, you know what happens.

You know the pain of that, Eggheads. Your third question.

In terms of international intelligence sharing,

the term Five Eyes refers to the United States,

Britain, Canada, Australia, and which other country?

-France was my...

-I should think France, wouldn't you?

-I think it's New Zealand.

-You think it's New Zealand?

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-What makes you think that?

I think I've read about it once,

and I think New Zealand is one of the partners.

-I'm not certain, but...

-Well, if it's wrong, it's wrong.

-..I have a feeling.

-Well, I trust your inklings.

-Shall we go for that?

-Yes, we'll trust Pat's inklings.

-Shall we go for New Zealand?

-Yes.

-OK.

We're going for New Zealand.

-Pat is absolutely right. It's New Zealand.

-Well done, Pat.

-He saved it.

-Phew.

All right, so, we go to Sudden Death.

It's a very good contest today.

Gets a bit harder. I don't give you options.

Here we go. The names of two signs of the Zodiac begin with a vowel.

Aquarius is one. What is the other?

-It's Aries, isn't it?

-Aries.

-Yeah.

It's Aries, Jeremy.

Aries is right. Well done.

Sudden Death.

Rachel Riley first found fame in 2009

when she became a presenter on which daytime TV show?

-Countdown.

-Countdown? Yeah, I think that has her first job.

-She was a maths graduate.

-Yeah, she was.

-Got that job.

-It's Countdown?

-Countdown.

That is Countdown.

Countdown is correct.

Chris has never forgiven her for replacing Carol Vorderman.

LAUGHTER

Sudden Death. As of the end of 2016,

Sylvester Stallone has played the character Rocky Balboa

in how many films?

Up until the late '80s.

Rocky IV came out in '88? '87? '88?

-Is there not a Rocky V?

-I think there was a Rocky V,

but wasn't there a sequel with Apollo Creed's son?

Is that a Rocky film? Creed, wasn't it?

-It was called Creed.

-OK.

Were there any other ones apart from this Creed?

There was another one called Rocky Balboa that he did.

I don't... I don't remember it.

-Do we feel like he played Rocky later on as an older guy?

-Yeah.

-So, would that be five?

-As a trainer, yeah.

That's what I'm saying. I think probably six.

If we've got Rocky V, plus that, that's six films as Rocky Balboa.

-Listen, I'm happy with six. I mean...

-Are you?

I'm pretty sure he did five, and I thought I had in my head

that he did a film called Rocky Balboa.

He did one as Rocky later, but...

He did six or seven. Possibly seven.

I think six, but you're...

No, if you think six, six is my most preferred answer.

-Are you sure?

-I'm not certain,

-but that's what I would go for if I was on my own.

-All right, OK.

So, I think we've got consensus and we're going to go for six.

OK, six is your answer. I listened very carefully.

You've got all the information there.

You got it wrong. THEY GROAN

So, this is the thing, right?

Yes, it's Rocky one to five,

and, yes, the most recent one is Creed,

but there was another one called Rocky Balboa...

-Oh, mate...

-Oh.

-..which you kept sort of suggesting.

-I'm so sorry.

-No, I wouldn't...

-No, but I could hear you.

It was there. I was so frustrated for you.

-So, I'm sorry, it's seven.

-Too bad.

That was really amazing listening to you discussing it.

I was thinking you're suddenly going to slot in the pieces.

It's not over yet.

Eggheads, this for the contest.

Mount Elbert, the highest point in the Rockies,

is in which US state?

-I think most of the Rockies is in Colorado, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-It goes down, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it's a huge range.

-What's above Colorado...

-Oh, erm...

-..with the Rockies?

There probably are some in Idaho,

and then they bend then towards the coast,

and they extend into Canada.

-I think Colorado's a...

-I don't know.

I think Colorado, as well.

-It's got loads and loads of really high mountains.

-Yeah.

OK. We're going to say Colorado.

Colorado. We had Rocky in the last question, didn't we,

-and rocky in this question?

-Yeah.

-Have you got it wrong, as well?

If you have, we play on. If you haven't, the contest is over.

-The correct answer is Colorado.

-It is!

We say congratulations, Eggheads. You have won.

Ooh, that turned into quite a contest.

-Eesh! Well played, seriously.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

You turned on the heat at the end there. My goodness.

Commiserations, Beer Milers. Sorry about that.

The Eggheads have done what sort of comes naturally to them

most of the time.

And the winning streak continues, and it's looking good.

You only lost one today, as well, Eggheads.

It means the Challengers don't go home with the £7,000,

so we roll the money over to our next show.

Eggheads, very well done. Who will beat you?

Join us next time to see if a new team of Challengers

can do the same or better.

There'll be £8,000 to win. Until then, goodbye.